Some times you have to appreciate the little things in life....

Like when you're on a flight to Amsterdam, and spill your apple juice into your lap.. In this situation there is really only one thing to do - be grateful that you didn't spill the hot tea that was sitting right next to the apple juice!

Another good thing about appreciating the little things, is that the bigger things seem even more grand.

This weekend I went to Amsterdam to see Hanson live at the Paradiso. Of course, it's not my first show, but it was my first real concert seeing as the only things I've done before are the 2009 Tulsa MOE and the NYC 5 of 5. And there is a difference. There is a huge difference!

Going to a plain, normal concert is something I've been waiting to do since 1997, so I guess you could say it was way overdue. Luckily, all the little things and all the big things made this first concert a night to remember.

A couple of days before the concert I got an email saying I had gotten one of the 14 meet&greets for Amsterdam, and of course I was completely extatic! Even more nerves on top of what I was allready experiencing, but who cares about that?! Meeting Hanson is worth all the nerves in the world! But we'll get to that..

Getting to Amsterdam was resonably easy - Schiphol is close to the city center, and I manage to find my way to the couchsurf host I was to be staying with without any difficulty. Luckily, he turned out to be as weird (/mental) as me, which made for a very interesting and fun weekend - even outside the concert.

I spent Friday morning walking around Amsterdam, pretty strung up before my M&G and the concert, but still managed to take in some of the sites and even make room for some sushi in between all the butterflies in my stomach. After seeing my share of canals, leaning houses and coffeeshops, I decided it was time to make my was towards Paradiso and my fellow fans. What if I got there and realised the other M&G'ers were completely horrible??

Well... Safe to say that wasn't the case!! After recognizing the line outside Paradiso as fansons, I made my way through he crowd - looking for any familiar faces. Yeah, not easy when you only know people from facebook. So I took a shot, walked up to a girl and asked her if she knew my danish facebook-fanson-friend. As it turned out, she was standing right next to me and we ended up chatting until close to doors.

Even better, hanging out with her and her friends, I also ended up meeting most of the other M&G'ers. And what do you know - they turned out to be some of the coolest girls I've ever come across! I don't care if you're Croatian, Brazilian, Dutch or Marsian for that matter - we stand united in Hanson! We ended up having a great time waiting for our M&G, and of course an even better time when the finally let us in.

We were made to wait in the lobby, and few minutes later Hanson walked in. No screaming, no running - we were all very sivilized. Hanson handed out both hugs and signatures all around, and I even plucked up the courage to show Taylor my tattoo. The feeling of meeting Hanson like that is something I don't think I could ever explain to a non-fanson, so I'm not even gonna bother. The only thing you need to know is that it was completely awesome, and I was over the moon when they led us into the venue for the concert.

Which leads me to the next big thing - the front row. Oh yeah. Getting a M&G doesn't only mean meeting the band, but also getting into the venue before everyone else, and thus getting the absolute best spots in the entire place. I ended up right in front of Taylor, and let me tell you, I wouldn't have traded that spot for anything in the world! Through the entire concert I was all smiles (and screams of course), and I just couldn't have enjoyed it more. Sharing it with the amazing M&G'ers at front row just made it even better.

Since there are pictures and videos posted all over facebook and youtube, I'm not going to describe the concert in detail. It should suffice to say it was the absolute best concert I have ever seen/heard, and that the withdrawals will be strong for months to come!

After he concert I had a chance to meet up with the Norwegian fansons who had also come the oh-so-long way from Norway for Hanson. Waiting for Zac, and then later Taylor was cold and killing my feet, but still so worth it. More pictures, more signatures. More of a Hanson-fix for me.

Will you belive I had trouble sleeping when I got back to the appartment after that experience? Still, I did manage after a while and slept like a contented kitten until the next morning.

I spent Saturday exploring more of Amsterdam by foot, some of the day with the awesome Norwegian fansons. I even managed to do a little shopping, despite a tight budget and an even tighter backpack. Another sushi meal, another few km on foot and several canals later I again met up with my host, and he showed me some of the, well, murkier parts of Amsterdam. There is just no way around it - on your first visit to Amsterdam, you kinda have to experience the red light district. Being a Norwegian, it was definetly somewhat of a culture shock, but hey - that's why I travel!

Sooo.. To sum up. A weekend in Amsterdam brought me some amazing new friends, a wonderful musical experience, and a couple of new impressions that I don't think I could have gotten anywhere else. And the little things? They definetly made the big things even bigger - what a weekend!!

There are so many rumours about the temple...

And people seem to do what they can to spread these rumours, whithout really checking how much of it is true.

Luckyly, supervolunteer at the temple, Natalia, has taken on the responsibility of talking back to some of these people and recently got an article published, as a reply to a negative article in GEO Russia.

Yes, it's in russian, but still worth mentioning! :) Great work being done by all the people at the temple now, wish I was there to be a part of it!

http://www.chaskor.ru/article/govoryat_geo_vret_24382

Once upon a time...

... there was a girl who had too much fun traveling to update her blog.

The End.

.... for now

New place, new country.

After more than six weeks, I'm outside Thailand again!

The last few days in sothern Thailand have been rainy and not at all the beach paradise we'd been hoping for, so now we have high hopes that Malaysia will deliver what Thailand didn't. So far it's been a tiresome journey. From riding on the back of a scooter in the rain, with two backpacks and a bag when going to the hotel in Phuket to the seriously tubulent flight from Phuket to KL. Luckily the flight from KL to Kota Bharu was more pleasant, and we found a taxi and a guest house easily enough.

So far we've only had a little walk around town, some dinner and are planning on taking a walk through the night market a little later. Our taxi to Perenthian leaves at 8.00 in the morning, so no late night tonight.

I was planning on transferring some pictures today as well, but seeing as the computer at the guesthouse sounds like a jet engine taking off I'll be postponing that for later.

Now I think it's time for a stretch on my bed, before checking out some more night market delights! No bugs this time.....

Bye bye Railey!

And just like that we've left another place...

We got to Railey on Monday, looking forward to some more peace and quiet after the packed conditions of Phi Phi. Turns out Railey is definetly peaceful and quiet during the day, and unless you're interested in doing rock climbing ther really isn't all that much to do in day time. Of course, night time is a whole other story.

We got some flyers advertising a fire show, and decided to check it out, even after having seen the one at Phi Phi several times. Turns out the guys at Raileys Last Bar, allthough not as hunky looking, are even better at juggling fire than the guys at Phi Phi. Very impressive! The youngest guy there is only 16, and put on a crazy show. Pictures and video to come as soon as I get to transfer from my camera again.

At Railey we stayed at the Yaya resort, where we payed 350 baht for a room that was definelty better than the one at Phi Phi. No Gustav either. We spent most of our day time at the beach, all though some heavy rain showers cut our beachtime short some days. Still nice, and still an amazing place to be. Quite sure I'll be going back there one day.

Right now we're back in Phuket, staying in a very nice hotel that even has hot water in the shower! What a splurge! For 500 baht, it is actually almost a splurge, but soo worth it after a long day of travelling from Railey. One longtail boat and three minibuses, and two very uncomfortable stops to wait for the next bus along the way. So glad to be done with that!

Tomorrow we're heading out to the airport early, to catch our 8.15 flight to Kuala Lumpur, where we're transferring to Kota Bharu. Hopefully once we get there we'll be able to catch the last boat out to Perenthian. Crossing fingers for that.

Now it's time to get some sleep, next update; Malaysia!

Phi Phi Island report

From Chiang Mai we flew to Phuket to go directly to Phi Phi the following morning. Getting here well before noon on Monday we had enough time to get to know the place and to check out the beach. And after staying at the temple for a month, and then travelling around for a few days the laid back feeling of Phi Phi was just what the doctor ordered.

We've been staying at a nice little guest house called Harmony House. The room is 350 baht a night (less than 50NOK per person), and the guest house located a little way away from the beach and the "bar centre" which means it's pretty quiet and not to mention safe. The room was a pretty typical standard from what I've come to expect from guest houses in Thailand. No aircon (that'll just give you a cold anyway), no hot water in the shower (who needs that when the ocean is warm??) and a little house pet we decided to name Gustav (cockroaches aren't my favorite pets, but I'm not one to be picky).

The beaches are pale sand and the water is (mostly) a clear green blue. Perfect for lazy days just chilling out with a book. We've spent most of our beach time on the closest beach at Loh Dalam Bay, but also high jacked a long tail boat to take us out to Long Beach one morning.

Yesterday we did one of the mandatory tours of the surrounding area, where we among other places visited Maya Beach, made famous by the movie The Beach. Incredibly gorgeous, as was the other places we visited on our sunset cruice.

The nights here at Phi Phi are spent at some of the most amazing beach parties ever known to man. It starts out with a fire show, and ends in loud music and hordes of people dancing in the sand. Though it's been a lot of fun, getting to Ray Leh for a bit of relaxing probably won't be the worst thing right now.

Which brings me to our plans from here.. We're leaving for Ray Leh today, and plan to stay there for a few days before moving on. Our initial plans were to go to Cambodia after the south of Thailand, but after some consideration of time and financial matters we've decided to go to Malaysia instead. I've never been there either, so another notch in the belt for me countrywise.

Aaaan, that should be all for now. Might come back with more news from Ray Leh. :)

Chiang Mai jungle flight!

It's been a while since I've sat down by a computer, so please forgive me if I leave something out...

We spent our last day in Chiang Mai at the Jungle Flight treetop adventures. This is basically a web of ziplines connecting to different platforms high in the jungle canopy. And let me tell you, it's awesome!!!

The longest of the ziplines is around 300m high, and actually gives you a view of the jungle all the way to Burma. You do move pretty fast though, so there's not really all that much time to enjoy the view. Especially when you take into account that the highest of the ziplines is a staggering 120m above ground. For me, having a slight fear of hights, that was a challenge. But when I did throw myself over the edge of that platform it was without a doubt worth it!

We also did a few abseils, where the longest was a 40m drop straight down. What a thrill!

Definetly one of the most fun days I've had in a looong time, and I'm positive I'll do it again if I ever go back to Chiang Mai. If you're ever in the area - check it out! http://www.jungle-flight.com/